The materials in this chapter are closely related to the materials in Chapters Twelve and Thirteen. These three chapters can be taught together, or sections of any of the chapters can serve as supplements to any of the others. The basic distinction is that the materials in Chapter Eight are specifically geared toward researching with conversational media, whereas the materials in Chapters Twelve and Thirteen focus on the collaborative aspects of lists, newsgroups and forums. Still, be aware that there is significant overlap.
Of particular interest in this chapter is the final section entitled "Composing the Post." If your class is going to be working on lists, newsgroups, and forums, this information will be very helpful for students to read.
Remember to build time into your syllabus when you're having students post to on-line forums. If you expect meaningful conversation to develop around your students' work, you'll need to make sure that there is at least a week between the time they post and the time they need to start using the information they receive. Ideally there will be even more time so that they can continue to revise their posts as they receive different responses, perhaps moving to different forums or rethinking their approach.
Another tip that you can give your students is to use the searchable archives of sites like DejaNews (http://www.dejanews.com) as a way of finding FAQ-type information from newsgroups. Instead of jumping on and immediately posting a query, try doing a keyword search about the subject at DejaNews. It's surprising how many times they'll find the material they're looking for without having to spend the time it takes to write a post and wait for responses. And this way they'll be sure to avoid the possibility of annoying the members of a group by asking a question that's recently been answered. Similarly, by looking at the responses that come up, they may be able to discover additional relevant newsgroups or further refine their question, making it more specific or taking a different approach than the earlier posts.
One of the potential problems that students will run into when posting to collaborative forums has to do with the kinds of responses they will receive. Of course, much of this depends on the level of traffic and primary audience of the particular forum where they are sending their posts. Hopefully, these will be factors that your students will consider themselves as they compose their messages. But there are times (not infrequently) when a student will do everything correctly to the best of his or her knowledge (following the strategies for composing an effective post laid out in the chapter) and still receive either flames or no response at all.
Although there isn't much that can be done in these situations, here are a few suggestions about how to handle this problem.
In general, you should be aware that as an instructor you may need to fill in a few of the gaps that aren't answered by the Internet audience. You can use these moments as opportunities to talk further about ways of exploring an issue and rhetorical persuasiveness with your students. Similarly, these situations may be chances to get the rest of your class involved by providing feedback to the students who weren't able to generate useful responses. It's important to remember, and to remind your students, that not all topics are well suited for the Internet. Similarly, because of the transient nature of the Net, it may be that a post which received no comments one week will spark a long thread the next. Sometimes, though, even great posts will go unanswered or get flamed.
Exercise 8.1 Analyzing a Newsgroup
Time: This exercise will take at least one full class period. It might make sense to start the exercise in class and have the students write up their findings as homework.
Suggestions: Remember that LISZT and DejaNews find individual messages, not full newsgroups. Your students will have to use the messages as a guide to finding useful groups to analyze.
This is a good exercise to do in small groups. It helps to have several people looking at a newsgroup and talking about their findings. Remind students that their answers to these questions do not have to be cut and dryoften it will be difficult to categorize a group. Tell them to look for trends, not absolute categories or divisions.
Exercise 8.2 Critically Reading Newsgroup Messages
Time: This exercise will probably take two full class periods if students are choosing the messages. It can be done in a single class period if the instructor pre-selects the materials.
Suggestions: If the focus is on critical reading, we suggest that you choose a set of posts yourself or use the materials provided at the Connections Web site. This will save time and you can be assured that the articles represent a broad enough spectrum of ideas.
This exercise works well if you start out in small groups and then come together as a class to discuss your findings.
Exercise 8.3 Analyzing a Thread in a Newsgroup
Time: This exercise can be done in a single class period or as homework.
Suggestions: It may help to pre-select a single newsgroup and ask students to comment on different threads within that group. This will mean that the full-class discussion will be grounded by some shared observations. Using a single group will also dovetail nicely with Exercise 8.1.
Working through this exercise is a good way to get students thinking about the multiple perspectives on an issue. Try using this assignment at an early stage in a paper assignment and ask students to analyze a thread that discusses their paper topic. Make sure that students pay particular attention to the range of opinions and ideas that are being discussed about the issue.